Golf-ball.



No. 878,254. PATENTED FEB. 4, 1908. W. TAYLOR.

GOLF BALL.

APPLI CATION'IILED SEPT.11.1906.

\ walls confined to the immediate neighbon UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GOLF-BALL.

No. events.

Specification of Letters B atant.

Patented Feb. 4, 1908.

Application filed September 11,1906. Serial No. 334.123.

To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that 1, WILLIAM TAYLOR, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, residing at 57 Sparkenhoe street, Ize'icester, in the county of Leicester, England, engineer, have invented certain new and useful Irn rovements in Golf-Balls, of whichthe fol owing is a specification.

This invention relates to balls such as are used in the game of golf and hasfor its principal object to obtain better results in the flight of the ball in the direction of a sustained hanging flight giving a fiat trajectory with a'slight rising tendency particularly towards the end of the flight, than havebeen possible with balls of known types. Formerly the most common marking for such balls consisted of numerous grooves of even width intersectin each other and leaving between them iso ated polygonal portions of the spherical surface of the ball, and it has been proposed to invert this marking so that the spherical surface-of the ball consists of numerous ridges intersecting each other and inclosing isolated polygonal cavities. Another common marking consists in forming the surface with numerous separate prominenccs resembling those upon the sur face of a blackberry and named on this account the bramble pattern. The character of the marking which constitutes the present invention may be described in general terms as an inverted bramble pattern, and consists ofisolated cavities the essential features of which are. that they must be substantially circular in plan and substan tially evenly distributed, they must be shallow, and their sides, particularly at the lip of the cavity, must he steep. Stcepness of the cavity walls is essential to the hanging flight, but excessive depth besides )romoting the collection of dirt, is detrimental to length of flight by offering great resistance to the passage of the air. Consequently the cavity must be shallow and the steepness of its hood of the lip. These features are described and illustrated in'the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is an elevation and Fig. 2 a central section of a solid ball the surface of which is marked in the im rovcd manner,

' it being understood that tie invention is equally applicable to the cored type of ball.

Figs. 3, 4 and 5 are enlar ed detail views illustrating various forms 0 cavities.

The section of the cell which is exemplified may be of the form of a sha low inverted truncated cone (Fi 3) with flat bottom, the angle inclosed %)y the walls being less than a right angle, but preferabl the bot tom is made somewhat concave ig. 5) the rentrant angle is rounded as shown at 0 (Figs. 4 and 5) and the angle between the walls at the lip of the cell made more acute so that the section of the cavity becomes prae tically semi-elliptical (Fig. 5).

Preferably the cavities should occup'y not less than a quarter nor more than three uarters of the entire surface of the ball, an the hundredths of an inch, nor should they be of greater depth than fourteen thousandths of an inch, and in any case their depth should not exceed one-ei hth of their diameter.

The whole of the surface of the ball be.- twccn the cavities may be left spherical, olthe surface immediatel surrounding the cavities may be sloped inwardly to the lip which may either be left sharp as in Fig. 4 or may be rounded o[l,as in Fig. 5, and by this means frictional resistance to passage through the air is lessened without sacrificing anything of the hanging cllect of the llight.

When the improved marking is applied to cored balls, the shell has; thercb given to it an added tensile strength and elasticity due to the reticular structure of its surface which tends to prevent bursting and permanent set or slacking of the shell. Further, cavities of the character described with their recntrant angles rounded oil, do not readily collect dirt, and are easily-cleaned.

Having thus described the nature of this invention and the best means I know of carrying the same into ractical effect, Iclaim:' l l. A golf ball wit 1 spherical surface pitted with isolated cavities oflarge surface area relatively to their depth, substantially circular in plan, with steep sides at the peripheries only of said cavities, and of a depth not exceeding onc-ei dith of their diameter.

2. 'A golf ba 1 with spherical surface pitte'd relatively to their depth, substantially circular in plan, with steep sides at the peripheries diameter of the cavities should be not less than nine-hundredths nor more than fifteenwith isolated cavities of large surface'area in the enlarged detail views Fi s. 3, 4 and 5, i

only of said cavities, and dished or concave 3. A golf ball with spherical surface pitted.

with isolated cavities, the surface immediately surrounding the cavities sloping inwardly to the lips of said cavities.

4. A golf ball with spherical surface pitted with isolated cavities of large surface area relatively to their depth, substantially circular in plan, With steep sides at the peripheries only of said cavities, and of a diameter not less than nine-hundredths nor greater than fifteen-hundredths of an inch, and of a depth not exceeding fourteen thousandths of an inch.

erases hundredths nor greater than fifteen-hundredths of an inch, and of a depth not ex-v in plan, the surface immediately surrounding the cavities sloping inwardly to the lips of said cavities. V

7. A. golf ball With spherical surface pitted With isolated cavities substantially circular in plan, the surface immediately surrounding the cavitiw. sloping inwardly to the lips of'the cavities, and said cavities having steep sides and concave bottoms, and being of a depth not exceeding one eighth of their diameter. In testimony'whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

, WM. TAYLOR. Witnesses:

HENRY SHELTON, P. H mos. 

